{"product_id":"playing-place-chad-randl-9780262047838","title":"Playing Place: Board Games, Popular Culture, Space","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn essay collection exploring the board game's relationship to the built environment, revealing the unexpected ways that play reflects perceptions of space.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBoard games harness the creation of entirely new worlds. From the medieval warlord to the modern urban planner, players are permitted to inhabit a staggering variety of roles and are prompted to incorporate preexisting notions of placemaking into their decisions. To what extent do board games represent the social context of their production? How might they reinforce or subvert normative ideas of community and fulfillment? In \u003ci\u003ePlaying Place\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eChad Randl and D. Medina Lasansky have curated a collection of thirty-seven fascinating essays, supplemented by a rich trove of photo illustrations, that unpack these questions with breadth and care. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlthough board games are often recreational objects, their mythologies and infrastructure do not exist in a vacuum--rather, they echo and reproduce prevalent cultural landscapes. This thesis forms the throughline of pieces reflecting on subjects as diverse as the rigidly gendered fantasies of classic mass-market games; the imperial convictions embedded in games that position player-protagonists as conquerors establishing dominion over their \"discoveries\"; and even the uncanny prescience of games that have players responding to a global pandemic. Representing a thrilling convergence of historiography, architectural history, and media studies scholarship, \u003ci\u003e Playing Place\u003c\/i\u003e suggests not only that tabletop games should be taken seriously but also that the medium itself is uniquely capable of facilitating our critical consideration of structures that are often taken for granted.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Chad Randl\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0262047837\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262047838\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/15\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.29lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 10.08h x 8.19w x 0.87d","brand":"Chad Randl","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44132024484095,"sku":"9780262047838","price":39.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ec465521-ba93-4e77-84a8-b9bf6ec2205d.jpg?v=1687477776","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/playing-place-chad-randl-9780262047838","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}